How Tiger Woods broke his teeth while celebrating with girlfriend Lindsey

Scottsdale (Arizona): Golf ace Tiger Woods has told his tooth tale for the first time and explained just how he broke his teeth in Italy on January 19 while celebrating girlfriend Lindsey Vonn's record 63rd World Cup victory.

Tiger Woods is all smiles during the pro-am event before the Phoenix Open in Arizona yesterday. Pic/AFP

Tiger said he broke not one, but two teeth in the bargain — one was chipped and the other was cracked — both of which were replaced before he arrived here on Wednesday to start his season at the Phoenix Open.

Tiger began his explanation on a lighter note claiming he wore a scarf over his face to avoid being recognised because it's difficult to see a man of coloured heritage at a ski World Cup.

"Not a lot of brown dudes at ski races, OK?" Tiger said with a laugh, as cameras his all-teeth-intact smile.

Chaos uphillWoods explained that after the race was over the presentation was moved uphill for photographers and he went up the hill just behind the cameras. "All the camera guys are below me on their knees or moving around, trying to get a picture.

Then, a dude with a video camera on his shoulder right in front me, kneeling, stood up and turned and caught me on the mouth," said Woods adding that there was instant blood but it wasn't visible due to his mask. "The videographer hit the tooth on which I had a root canal, chipping it. The other tooth had to be fixed, too, because it had cracks through it."

The picture of Woods missing a tooth was flashed worldwide and was as big as Vonn's win.